Custom

Details

Date Published

Date Built

CPU Clock Rate

CPU Temperature While Idle

32.0° C

CPU Temperature Under Load

68.0° C

GPU Core Clock Rate

1.999 GHz

GPU Effective Memory Clock Rate

10.044 GHz

GPU Temperature While Idle

30.0° C

GPU Temperature Under Load

55.0° C

Description

By no means is it my first gaming PC, but it is the first one I've ever built from scratch. I did encounter some issues installing the motherboard, as the I/O shield made it difficult to mount the mobo, and I made some innocent mistakes when it came to the CPU cooler standoffs, but overall it was a pretty easy build that performs well. Overkill for most people, but exceptionally useful for me as I tend to run multiple servers and virtual machines. I have yet to really push the CPU, and I think I have the best stable OC I can get out of the GPU for now.

And yes, I am well aware the LinusTechTips has their own "Compensator" build. I realized it after naming it, and I'm not changing it. I gave it this name because I'm compensating for the last computer where I wish I had never gone with AMD.

Updated 12/2/16: I have successfully overclocked the i7 6700k to 4.6GHz stable. Updated the Fire Strike link to reflect that.

Motherboard

Overpriced for some flashy bells and whistles, but I got it mostly for the (buggy but functional) integrated RGB headers. Upgrading the BIOS wiped my settings, which is annoying. Lots of control options though.

Seems to be working very well so far. I was a bit hesitant based on the lack of reviews since it's so new, but it's still Corsair memory with a lifetime warranty. Only time will tell how it holds up, but I simply installed it, set it to 3200mhz, and it's just been working without any problems.

Great build. Still have some cable clean up but looking good! Kudos on getting it all together and awesome to see a combination that includes an ASUS board and graphics card. Thanks for being #TEAMROG & #TEAMSTRIX.

You even get more love as you are rocking the a ROG ( SWIFT ) series monitor.

Do you plan to do AURA SYNC and align the LEDs from the board to the GPU and maybe through in an LED strip? That is one of the great features on the ALPHA. One of my absolute favorite boards.

Regarding your upgrade of the UEFI this is true for any motherboard. Updating the UEFi will reset the board to default values.

As for the comments on the GPU you actually would be hard pressed to get a better 1080. The build design on the STRIX is awesome. Did you use fan connect headers ( not clear in the picture ).

Also note sure if you have connect the fans from the CPU cooler to the CPU and CPU OPT headers? Ideally you want them there so when you run the fan calibration which is one of the big reasons to get an ASUS board you can easily define a fan profile after the calibration and not have jump between applications to control different fans.

Thanks! I'm actually still waiting on the monitor, it should arrive today. Still using a crappy LG IPS I got 3 years ago (the wife is getting this one).

I have AURA fully configured now, and finally properly mounted the LED strips around the lip of my desk instead of on my wall trim.

As for the GPU, I'm still tinkering, but it seems good. I've gotten it to run at 1999mhz, just so close to breaking that 2Ghz mark!

The CPU cooler was properly installed and wired, the issue was the the BIOS Qfan control fighting with corsair link for control of the fans. Once I disabled Qfan control, and set my own custom fan curves, everything worked great.

There's a difference between BLB and IPS glow. All IPS panels have IPS glow, it's just the nature of them. That being said, it's no worse on this monitor than on my other IPS panel. If it's that big of a deal, wait to grab an OLED display, or just go with a good TN panel.

Yeah, I know. I realized this after I named it. Thought about changing the name, but decided against it. I called it the compensator because I'm compensating for the compromises I made on my last PC. Never again. The LinusTechTips compensator is total overkill tbh, this build was my attempt at building the best PC possible before diminishing returns (price to performance ratio) drops off sharply.